Nasri Scores A Wonder Goal

“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going..”, and so we heard a long time back. The stakes couldn’t be higher when the Gunners squared up against a resilient Porto side in the decider for a place in the quarters of the Champion’s League, last evening. Trailing by a single goal, an away goal at that, from the first leg, and with home support to cheer them on, Arsenal were doing rather OK going into the match. But when our skipper Fabregas picked up an injury against Burnley at the weekend, there were suspicions on whether we could create enough for the likes of Bendtner to finish. Not forgetting the Dane’s conversion rate in front of the goal-mouth, the situation became all the more precarious. But the display which the Gunners belted out in front of another packed Emirates crowd is what reiterates our faith in Wenger’s ‘Young Guns’ time & again.

The final score read: Arsenal 5 – Porto 0, & we @11G celebrate the same right now..

Arsenal started rampantly & went ahead as early as the 9^th minute when Bendtner latched on a loose pounce from Porto’s custodian Helton. It was Arshavin who came with the initial shot from the left. This meant Porto now had all to do, which they were quick to react on. Both Hulk & Falcao tried their luck & harried our central pairing of Sol & Tomas. But that was that. Another round of Arsenal attacks courtesy a well taken shot from Diaby & another weaving run/shot from the Russian meant it was one-way traffic. The game was as good as over on the 25^th minute when yet another pin-point cross from Arshavin landed straight at Bendtner’s laces, & surely he couldn’t miss from 5 yards out. Arshavin then had the opportunity to rest the pieces when a cut-back from Nasri left him with an open net to shoot at. He narrowly missed the target their, very unlike him not to forget. Before the half time, further saves from Helton off Diaby, Nasri & Bendtner were indication enough that only one team was playing football.

Off went ref’s whistle for the 2’nd half & it was Porto who started brightly this time around. A snap shot from Falcao went straight to Almunia’s grasp & then came arguably the turning point of the match. Rodriguez leapt high to meet a header which was going in, until Nasri made a last ditch off-he-line clearance. From the attack that ensued, the Frenchman scored, which many believe, the goal of the season so far. He danced past three Porto players almost effortlessly & then planted a curvaceous strike straight into the top corner. A strike of beauty is a joy forever, aye!? The goal from Nasri was surely one, & will remain etched in our memories for times to come. The skeptical thoughts on whether he was good/fit enough to replace super Cesc as our playmaker, were undone right their. He came with his finest show in an Arsenal crest & will go long way to boost his confidence in what has been an injury plagued season thus far. We’ll need more such outings from him to cement our credentials in both the CL as well as the Premier League, especially now that the extent of Cesc’s injury is unknown.

To further compound Porto’s angst in what had been an evening to forget, Arshavin produced another assist, this time to Eboue. He wisely wrong footed the hapless Helton, to slot home Arsenal’s fourth. Another player who rose to the occasion, Andrey Arshavin showed glimpses of his stellar form from last season, as he ran riot on the left channel. Often played out-of-position as a central striker, he adjusted quickly to his old favourite left wing. We need more of the same from him in the weeks to come. But As Nasri & Arshavin were producing oozes of raw magic, one Niklas Bendtner completed his first senior hat-trick for the Gunners. Late on in the game, Eboue fell in the box off a rash tackle, & Niklas coolly finished what had been a mauling. Arsenal won the tie leg 5 – 0  & the leg 6 -2. After missing half a dozen at the weekend against Burnley, Bendtner backed words with action. With the supply line we have at Arsenal, he should in fact be getting more. Better late than never you can say!

As Wenger said post match, we are now ready to face the best there is. So United, Chelsea, Barcelona or even Madrid, where ever you are, Beware! The Red Army marches on..

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No stopping Us!!

They mockingly said “For 30 years, Arsenal haven’t overturned a first leg deficit in Europe’s Premier Competition“. I can gladly reply to them “You can eat your words safely now.” The jinx, if ever there was one has been broken, and it has been done in a thumping style with a resounding win over a hapless Porto. To the quartefinals and the other teams  I have one thing to say, “Watch Out, We are coming!” 11G recounts the same right now..

A comedy of errors (not so much a comedy if you are an Arsenal fan) 3 weeks ago in Porto left us in deficit. It was self inflicted, there can be no two ways about it. But the confidence had not been disturbed, the belief that we could always overturn the 2-1 deficit at home. But boy the way we played yesterday, any deficit would not have been out of bounds for us and those who saw the game can vouch for the fact that I am not exaggerating.

The crowd had gathered in huge numbers and in full support of their club. I believe they can sense a silverware this time around. the overwhelming atmosphere would have surely seemed hostile to visiting Porto and if they were nervous before the game, I guess they never really got a chance to settle those nerves.

The absence of Fabregas was a talking point before the match and the manager risked Andrei Arshavin who was carrying signs of a niggling injury. And did he not pay back!! He attacked repeatedly with malicious intent aptly supported by Rosicky and Nasri and at ten minutes, his surge left Bendtner with a free attempt at goal. He duly obliged. However there was lots more to come from the Danish international who had to bear the brunt of severe criticism after being gulity of missing a host of chances in the weekend game in Premiership.

The second goal was also a result of Arshavin’s bristling pace to which the Porto defence had no answers.Once again, Bendtner made merry through an easy tap-in. His second of the night. Porto were down but still not out and they themselves had a few chances of catching Arsenal’s seemingly lacklustre defence but were too wayward and directionless in attack.

Samir Nasri’s exhilarating solo effort was the final nail in the coffin for the Portuguese side. The Frenchman went around half the Porto side and applied a brisk finish to seal the quarterfinal tickets.

The hunger had not died down still. Eboue came on and his pace and alacrity combined with Arshavin’s precision was the recipe for Arsenal’s fourth on the night. But this was going to be a special day for Bendtner after all. With minutes remaining , Eboue earned a spot kick and Bendtner applied a neat finish to earn a Champions League hattrick, one to savour for sure!!

It was a deeply satisfying performance on the whole and if we carry on thiS way, Santiago Berneabeu will the place to be in come this May.

Keep Gunning till then!!

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The draw for the round of 16 is out & Arsenal have been paired with Porto. This is a rather easy fixture considering we could have faced the might of Inter or Milan! 11Gunners delves into how the entire set-up looks like..

The draw has opened up some real treats for fans, purists & neutrals alike. The best of the lot is unarguably the game between AC Milan vs Manchester United. This marks the return of the ‘prodigal son’ in the form of David Beckham, who will join his alma mater, years after taking the boot from Sir Alex! Another fiesta will be the game between Inter & Chelsea. Both sitting top of the pile in their domestic leagues, and both tactically very strong, will make for a fascinating match up. I didn’t rate this as the ‘most anticipated‘ one simply because the tie could get ugly, and not just football wise. And that because of the self-proclaimed ‘Special One‘. You guessed it, Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge after being ousted from the post of Chelsea manager few seasons back. Him & Carlo Ancelotti are no friends, which makes for a grand sub plot ahead of that one.

Holders Barcelona have been given a walk-over of sorts as they face VfB Stuttgart (Hleb returns to Camp Nou!), meanwhile Real Madrid face Lyon (Karim Benzema makes a return in this one!). Other damn squibs include: Bayern Munich vs Fiorentina (Luca Toni this time!), CSKA Moscow vs Sevilla and Olympiacos vs Bordeaux.

Note:

The draw was arranged so that eight group winners would be paired with eight group runners-up, although no team from the same group or country could meet.

The first legs will be played on 16/17 and 23/24 February 2010, with the second legs on 9/10 and 16/17 March. The group winners will play the second leg at home.

We Are Gunner Win It This Season. Amen!

This is what Wenger felt on Arsenal’s draw:

“It is a 50/50 game. Porto are always in there and always difficult to play against. The little advantage is that we have the second game at home but it’s important that we negotiate well our first game and try to score away from home. It’s a difficult draw.”

Difficult or otherwise, Santiago Bernabeu, here we come. Go Gunners..